In computer networks, a plurality of network stations are interconnected via a, communications medium. For example, Ethernet is a commonly used local area network scheme in which multiple stations are connected to a single shared serial data path. These stations often communicate with a switch located between the shared data path and the stations connected to that path. Typically, the switch controls the communication of data packets on the network.
One arrangement for generating a frame forwarding decision uses a direct addressing scheme, where the network switch includes a fixed address table storing switching logic for the destination address. In such arrangements with fixed address tables, adding an entry to the table often is a complex task taking a considerable amount of processing time. A further problem with such arrangements is that it is often difficult to make a change to a single field within an entry in the table.